Mizzou Football Stifles Ole Miss for Homecoming Victory

Saturday, October 12

Columbia, Mo.

6 p.m.

University of Missouri

5-1 , 2-0

Ole Miss

3-4 , 2-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Ole Miss

Mizzou Tigers

Mizzou Football Stifles Ole Miss for Homecoming Victory

10/12/2019 10:15:00 PM | Football

Box Score Game Book Postgame Notes

Rountree III scores twice as Tigers notch seventh-straight home win

Photo Gallery

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football finished off its longest home stand since 1908 with a 38-27 win over Ole Miss on Saturday, Oct. 12, at Memorial Stadium. It was the 108^th edition of homecoming at the University of Missouri, as Mizzou moved to 63-40-2 all-time in Homecoming games.

With the win, Mizzou moves to 5-1 (2-0 SEC) on the season while Ole Miss drops to 3-4 (2-2 SEC). Mizzou will hit the road for its next three games, beginning with a trip to Nashville, Tenn., to face Vanderbilt, Oct. 19. Kickoff will be at 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

Top Performers

Senior QB Kelly Bryant went 23-35 for 329 yards and one TD. His QB rating of 148.4 marked the fifth time in six games this season he recorded a rating of 145.0 or more.
Junior RB Larry Rountree III carried the ball 21 times for 126 yards and two TDs. It marked his fifth game with multiple rushing TDs, and his ninth career 100-yard rushing game. The junior tailback moved to No. 9 all-time on Mizzou's career rushing yards list, as he now has 2,476 career rushing yards.
Senior WR Jonathan Johnson recorded his fifth-career 100-yard game receiving, as he had eight receptions for 110 yards. He moved up from 10^th to seventh on the Mizzou all-time career receiving yards list with 2,171 yards.
Sophomore LB Nick Bolton had a career-high 10 tackles on the night.

A Quick Recap

After Ole Miss found the end zone early on its first drive, Mizzou was able to respond with 12 points in to take a 12-7 lead into halftime. Mizzou first found the scoreboard following a field goal from senior K Tucker McCann, who finished a 10-play, 62-yard drive with a 31-yard field goal. On the ensuing Ole Miss drive, the Mizzou defense held when it mattered most, as sophomore DE Jatorian Hansford recovered an Ole Miss fumble at the 35 yard line.

Mizzou responded with a seven-play, 62-yard drive to take the lead, as senior QB Kelly Bryant found sophomore RB Tyler Badie for a 17 yard TD – Badie's fourth TD of the season. Bryant's main target on the drive was senior WR Johnathan Johnson, as the veteran wideout had three receptions for 45 yards on the possession. The Tigers extended their lead on its next drive, as McCann made his sixth 40-yard field goal of the season, connecting from 48 yards to make it a 12-7 ball game.

Mizzou opened the second half scoring on four-straight possessions. Junior RB Larry Rountree III started the half with a 41-yard TD for his sixth score of the season. McCann would extended the lead once again later in the quarter, as he connected on his third field goal of the night with a 39-yard shot with 9:30 left remaining in the quarter to put Mizzou up 21-7. Next up was junior RB Dawson Downing, as he scored his first-career TD with a 54-yard scamper to make the score 28-7. The carry was also the longest of his career, and gave him a new career high rushing yards. After an Ole Miss TD, Rountree scored his second TD of the game, finishing off a five-play, 75-yard drive with a one-yard TD run, making the score 35-14.

Team Notes

Mizzou has now claimed seven consecutive wins at Faurot Field dating back to last season.
The Tigers concluded their monster five-game homestand this year with a flawless 5-0 record and outscored their opponents 240-58 in the process.
Mizzou's recent stretch of good fortunes in its annual homecoming game continued Saturday, as it has now won 13 of its last 18 homecoming matchups at Memorial Stadium.
Following Larry Rountree III's 1-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter, Mizzou secured its 11th consecutive game of scoring 31-plus points. It's the longest streak of 31-plus points since the 2006-07 Tigers accomplished the feat in 14-straight contests.
The impressive offensive streak currently ranks second-best in the nation, trailing only Oklahoma's streak of 16 consecutive games.
After Ole Miss produced a first quarter touchdown to open the game's scoring, Mizzou responded with 28 unanswered points. It was the second-most unanswered points scored by the Tigers this season (42 vs. Troy – Oct. 5).
The Tigers now lead the all-time series against Ole Miss, 7-1. Mizzou owns a perfect 2-0 record against the Rebels since it joined the Southeastern Conference in 2012.

Offensive Notes

Following a 31-yard field goal by Tucker McCann, Mizzou has produced points on its opening drive four times this season.
With his fifth-career 100-yard performance, Johnathon Johnson surpassed T.J. Moe, William Franklin and Victory Bailey for seventh place all-time in Mizzou career reception yards with 2,171 yards. Moe and Franklin finished their Tiger careers with 2,101 and 2,125 receiving yards, respectively, while Bailey finished with 2,144 yards.
After gaining seven yards early in the first quarter, Larry Rountree III moved into Top 10 all-time in Mizzou career rushing yards. He supplanted James Wilder at No. 10 overall, who totaled 2,357 yards from 1978-80.
Rountree III continued to climb the charts with a 41-yard touchdown run to open the second half. He then surpassed Ish Witter for No. 9 overall, who produced 2,418 rushing yards from 2014-17.
The big strike by Rountree III also marked the second time Mizzou has opened a second half with a touchdown. The first occurrence came against South Carolina (Sept. 21).
In the third quarter, Kelly Bryant hooked up with Tyler Badie for a 49-yard reception. It marked a new reception career-high for Badie, nearly doubling his previous single-game best (25-yarder vs. Georgia – Sept. 22, 2018).
Mizzou used another big play for its second touchdown of the third quarter, as Dawson Downing rumbled 54 yards for the score. The big burst established the longest rush in his career, surpassing his old mark of 29 yards vs. UConn (Oct. 28, 2017).
Downing's 54-yard score also cemented a new single-game career-high in rushing yards. His previous mark was 60 total yards on the ground in the aforementioned contest vs. UConn.
At the close of the third quarter, Rountree III pounded into the end zone for a 1-yard score. It secured his fifth career game with multiple rushing touchdowns.
Rountree III big night continued in the fourth quarter, as he surpassed 100 yards on the ground. It was the third time he eclipsed the century mark this year and the ninth time in his career.
Midway through the fourth quarter, McCann knocked home his fourth field goal of the night. It established a new season-high in field goals made and marked his third career game with four-plus successful kicks.

Defensive Notes

With a first quarter fumble recovery by Jatorian Hansford, the Tigers have forced and recovered a fumble in three consecutive games. The play also marked Hansford's first career fumble recovery.
After allowing a turnover aided touchdown in the first quarter, Mizzou's defense pitched a goose egg the rest of the opening half. The Tigers have allowed seven points or less in the first half in five consecutive games.
Nick Bolton reached double-digit tackles for the second time this season, joining his 10 tackle performance vs. West Virginia (Sept. 7).
Tyree Gillespie was also active on the defensive side, producing a career-high nine tackles. His old benchmark of seven tackles occurred in the Tigers' 2019 season opener at Wyoming (Aug. 31).
The Mizzou secondary was busy and effective all night, as Joshuah Bledsoe also finished with a career-high in tackles. His seven tackles against the Rebels surpasses his previous high-water mark of five tackles earlier this year vs. South Carolina (Sept. 21).
Jordan Elliott continued to wreak havoc in opposing backfields, as he recorded Mizzou's only tackles for loss on the night. On the season, he now paces all Tiger defenders with six tackles for loss.

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